The invention relates to a method of fastening covering material, such as floor coverings and wall linings to a surface of a substratum, especially at least partially flexible sheets such as carpets, which need to be adjusted into their correct position prior to fixing, to the surface of a floor, by means of a bonding layer. Furthermore, the invention embraces a bonding interlayer for this purpose, and covering material provided with a bonding layer.
West German Utility Model No. 7,905,528 describes an aid, for laying a carpet, in the form of a woven or knitted netting, consisting of natural and/or synthetic fibres and/or threads, and impregnated with a plasticizer-free pressure-sensitive adhesive. This tacky structure is covered on both sides with oiled paper or foil before the laying operation, to allow it to be transported in rolls.
Before the carpet is laid, the desired length of netting is cut from the roll and the protective paper is removed from both sides. The netting is then stuck to the floor and subsequently covered with the carpet, so that the latter is connected to the floor immovably as a result of the netting adhering to it. The essential disadvantage is that it is not possible to adjust the position of the carpet on the tacky netting. In addition, the netting is difficult to handle in spite of the protective paper. A further defect is the removal of the carpet results both in some disintegration and in considerable defacing of the floor by remains of the netting and by the adhesive, neither of which can be removed easily.
Similar disadvantages exist in the use of double-sided adhesive tapes which, in addition, only allow the covering to be fixed in strip-shaped zones. The region between these zones remains unfixed, and the covering tends to form folds to a greater extent there.
There are also problems with carpets which are already provided at the factory with an adhesive layer, likewise protected by paper, or else have to be laid at the place of fitting with a liquid adhesive coated on the floor.